Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean

Vanilla is one of the most expensive of flavorings-so valuable that it was smuggled or stolen by pirates in the early days-and yet it is everywhere. It is a key ingredient in dishes ranging from crème brûlée to Japanese purin. It is the quintessential ice cream flavor in the United States. Eric T. Jennings explains how the world's only edible orchid, originally endemic to Central America, became embedded in the international culinary and cultural landscape.



In tracing vanilla's rise, Jenning...